Bravery and Cunning
by black.k.kat
Summary: Hogwarts!AU. "Dad, what are you doing here?" Kakashi hisses, already teetering on the precipice of mortification just from Sakumo's presence alone. Especially given whose class Kakashi is maybe kind of loitering outside of.


For an anon on Tumblr who kindly let me highjack their ask oops.

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"Dad, what are you _doing_ here?" Kakashi hisses, already teetering on the precipice of mortification just from Sakumo's presence alone. _E_ _specially_ given whose class Kakashi is maybe kind of loitering outside of.

Sakumo just smiles cheerfully at him, rubbing a hand over his messy white hair, and covertly peers down the hallway. Well. _Covertly_ to anyone who isn't Kakashi, maybe.

"DMLE business," he answers, apparently without care for who overhears - the hallway isn't exactly empty. "Are you headed towards…Ancient Runes now?"

Kakashi narrows his eyes suspiciously. As far as he's aware, his father has never had cause to learn his class schedule. _Or_ reason to come to Hogwarts in general when there's not a Dark Lord looming. And there isn't - Kakashi keeps track of things like this.

However, before he can answer, the bell rings, and almost at the same moment, the classroom door opens. His father's presence all but forgotten, Kakashi hastily assumes a pose like he was interrupted mid-stride, rather than lurking in the hallway like a creeper, and swerves just in time to avoid crashing into the beautiful, scarred Slytherin he's finally worked up the courage to talk to.

(It's mostly Kushina's fault. She demanded to know why he was a Gryffindor in the first place if he couldn't even manage that much, and Kakashi was so offended by the implication that he swore he'd do it that same day. Unfortunately, Kushina is handy with charms in a way only Professor Senju can match, and she'd gleefully trapped him with a curse that will do unspeakably evil things if he fails. Not that he will, or that he ever intended not to. Kushina is just _mean_.)

"Sorry!" he immediately says, spinning back as the books he accidentally-on-purpose elbowed go tumbling out of the boy's hands.

"Oh!" The Slytherin - an Uchiha, and the very first not to end up in Hufflepuff like the rest of his family - looks startled, but when Kakashi scoops up his books and offers them up, he smiles. "Thanks. You're…Hatake, right?"

Oh dear Merlin, it's actually _working_.

Oh dear _Merlin_ , he knows Kakashi's name. "Right," Kakashi says, trying for aloof but mostly hoping it just doesn't come out dazed. Anything but that, _please_. "Kakashi Hatake. And you're - "

"Obito Uchiha." Another smile, a little crooked from the scars but also _glorious_ , and Kakashi kind of just wants to stare at his face for a while. That's creepy, isn't it? He's pretty sure that's creepy.

At the same moment, a familiar figure sweeps down the hall, scattering students mostly thanks to the massive king cobra draped around his shoulders like a very deadly scarf, and out of the corner of his eye Kakashi sees his father's face actually _light up_. "Professor!" he calls brightly, as Kakashi's heart sinks with sudden horror.

Professor Orochimaru half-turns, startled, and golden eyes widen at the sight of Sakumo. "Auror Hatake," he says, surprised but with a truly horrifying edge of invitation. "What an unexpected pleasure. What brings you to Hogwarts?"

Sakumo is grinning. Kakashi is probably going to have _nightmares._ For _life._ "Work," he says, and then holds up the thick, ratty book he's carrying. "And a bit of pleasure, too. I happened to find this on a raid and thought you might appreciate it more than the archivists."

That book is, unfortunately, all too recognizable, since Kakashi had to help his father dig through twelve rooms at the Ministry after he saw mention of it in one of his team's reports. Kakashi wasted his _last day of summer break_ looking for that damned book. He had thought it was to break an obscure curse or something, not so his dad could _woo his Ancient Runes professor_. Oh Merlin, he's never going to recover from this.

Before he can sink too deep into despair, though, a rough-scarred hand slips into his, and when he startles and spins Obito presses a finger to his lips - _his own lips, unfortunately_ , Kakashi thinks, and promptly wants to hit himself for it - and drags him forward.

"While they're distracted," Obito hisses, and Kakashi catches on immediately. He wastes no time joining Obito as the Slytherin bolts around the corner, and very much "forgets" to untangle their fingers as he heads towards the Great Hall.

"You have a lot of practice dodging that kind of thing?" he asks, and pretends he's mostly breathless from their run.

Obito laughs, slowing to a walk, and casts a cheeky wink at Kakashi. "Madara Uchiha is my guardian," he explains. " _Every time_ he sees Professor Senju in the halls, he does the exact same thing, I swear. Only with less googly eyes and more flailing insults."

Kakashi snorts before he can help himself, because every student at Hogwarts has placed at least one bet on when Madara and Tobirama will stop fight-flirting and actually do something about it. No one's won yet, but Kakashi has his money on this Christmas, and if it doesn't look like it's going to happen by then, he'll get creative. "I'm sorry," he tells Obito, and gets another crooked grin for his troubles.

"Looks like we both have the same problem now," he says, and shoots a pointed look at the staff table, where Madara is pointedly - and loudly - ignoring Tobirama.

At least Kakashi can be fairly certain his father won't act like _that_.


End file.
